Eeeek!!! Bob is a snake and not a cat!!!! I will take a cat over a snake any day of the week! Snakes mean there are too many mice and not enough cats!! There is seriously nothing worse than moving hay and finding a snake.

Could I buy a snake and put it in my hay loft? I'm fine with snakes as long as they aren't poisonous and I wouldn't have to worry about my dogs killing it. I've actually rescued wild gopher snakes that weren't hibernating before. And a snake would be really good if there was a type that would eat the mice AND keep away rattlers(we haven't had any issues with rattlers on our property YET but I know there are some living in the field next door...
If a snake would work, would a boa from the pet store work?

Boas don't belong in america. For the life of me I don't understand why it is legal to import any living animal. They cause all kids of problems when they get loose. All kinds of native snakes that eat mice just fine. Read up on which ones are which and what would be a good environment for them Not sure how you would keep em around though.

They don't sell snakes that would be found locally... we mostly have rattlers and gopher snakes. They are illegally to actually own, but since the gopher snake would be in the yard it'd be fine. But I don't think I'd have a way to get one into my yard in the first place...

Cats really aren't an option, guys. My dad and brother both have allegries and my dad is totally against getting one. Sometimes neighbor cats come into the yard and eat the rodents but I always worry about their safety. The last tom cat that was friendly and hung around my barn area was given to my neighbor. He was too sweet to be a risk of being killed by my dogs.

If you have dogs, just add a terrier variety to the mix, and you will soon be mouse-less! I have a little cairne cross that is a wicked mouser.

Just be sure you start with a young puppy and introduce the animals you don't want eliminated. Teach them what's prey and what's family. Mine knows the chickens and bunnies running around are off limits, that I prefer she doesn't kill the squirrels, and that the mice and gophers she catches earn a reward.

And she puts the coons and possums off the property pronto!

Well trained terriers are wonderful, untrained terriers are holy terror!!

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